No. 4 Ohio State is looking to pick itself up off the mat this weekend at home against Nebraska. The last we saw the Buckeyes, Will Howard was taking a little too much time to get down to set up a game-winning field goal attempt in the Buckeyes 32-31 loss to No. 1 Oregon at Autzen Stadium. They spent last weekend on a bye thinking about what might have been and hearing a lot of questions about their team.
Now they face a Nebraska team that was thoroughly whooped in front of the entire country, 56-7 last Sturday, to No. 13 Indiana.
There's a lot on the line this week. For Ohio State, with so many teams jumbled at the top of the Big Ten standings right now, another loss could put an end to any hope of a Big Ten title and a possible first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes are still the betting favorite to win the conference right now at +150, according to BetMGM sportsbook. For Nebraska, another loss would drop the Cornhuskers to 2-3 in the conference and erase all the goodwill the team had built up with its 5-1 start to the season.
Ohio State vs. Nebraska: Need to know
Ohio State is 44-0 against unranked opponents under Ryan Day: There's been plenty of talk about Ryan Day's inability to "win the big one" in the days since Ohio State lost to Oregon. While there is certainly a trend there worth criticism (and a deeper look), there's one aspect of Day's tenure at Ohio State that can't be questioned: the Buckeyes don't play down to opponents or lose games they aren't supposed to. Not only that Ohio State has gone 44-0 against unranked teams under Day, Nebraska has lost 26 straight games against ranked opponents.
Dylan Raiola is struggling right now: The young quarterback's career got off to a fast start, but it looks as though he may have hit the freshman wall. Even in Nebraska's first loss against Illinois, Raiola performed well, throwing for three touchdowns. But the last two weeks against Rutgers and Indiana have been rough. Raiola completed fewer than 50% of his passes against the Scarlet Knights and threw three interceptions in last week's loss to Indiana. He hasn't thrown a touchdown in the month of October but has four interceptions.
Ohio State lost its starting left tackle for the season: Ohio State announced this week that starting left tackle Josh Simmons will miss the rest of the season due to an injury suffered in the loss to Oregon. It's a serious blow to the Buckeyes offense. While the skill position players grab all the attention, this offensive line has been a big reason for the team's success. More concerning is that it's been the interior of the line that has excelled. If you wanted to claim there was a weakness, it'd be at the tackle spot, where Simmons has been the team's best performer. Now, Ohio State's tackle depth will be put to the test, and the margin of error the Buckeyes had in their quest to win the Big Ten grows even slimmer following the Oregon loss.
How to watch Ohio State vs. Nebraska live
Date: Saturday, October 26 | Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Ohio Stadium -- Columbus, Ohio
TV: Fox | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)
Ohio State vs. Nebraska prediction, picks
Listen, the Buckeyes are down a bit at the moment, but it's not as if this team was overpowered or outplayed by Oregon. It was a game between two quality teams, and one managed to come out on top. Ohio State's still one of the best teams in the country, and while injuries could impact it against other top-tier competition, I don't put Nebraska in that tier. Ohio State has all the motivation in the world to bounce back and put together an outstanding performance, but it's hard for me to lay as many points as sports betting apps want me to. I do see some areas of this Ohio State defense Nebraska can exploit if it hits a few big plays. Give me the over. Pick: Over 48.5
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